Daily Life as a Serial Entrepreneur

How You Can Respond to an Offensive Comment at Work …

Here’s the situation, your colleague has said something that makes you feel uncomfortable and is offensive. He thinks that is hilarious, but you find it inappropriate. What do you do in a situation like this? Should you speak up? Should you just let it go? This can be a sticky situation, so it takes a delicate hand.

1. Weigh the benefits before speaking up

The first step that you need to figure out is if it is worth it to speak up. Sure, there are some good reasons to do so, but if you don’t speak up, what is going to happen? It’s hard to judge what the right answer is, but in most cases, depending on the situation, you need to address the offensive behavior, so the individual doesn’t keep offending other folks.

2. Don’t make assumptions

Assuming anything can be dangerous. You want to make sure that you keep your level of accusations at a minimum, as a lot of people can misconstrue things. Don’t call anyone out right away, instead, formulate how you are going to talk to them and try to think about their prospective too.

3. Explain your reaction

Finally, if you do decide to move forward with talking to the associate, make sure that you explain your response. You want to explain right here, you want to be concise, and you want it all to make sense. Don’t rush into this conversation packed with emotions either.

Now that you know how to handle the situation, have you ever had a situation where you needed to talk to an employee about their behavior?